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• cousin
  cousin

  noun

  the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt.
• Cousin
  Cousin

  noun

  Victor 1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer: founder of the method of eclecticism in French philosophy.

cousin

¹ American  

[kuhz-uhn] / ˈkʌz ən /

noun

cousins plural

1. Also called full cousin.  Also called first cousin.  the son or daughter of an uncle or aunt.

2. one related by descent in a diverging line from a known common ancestor, as from one's grandparent or from one's father's or mother's sister or brother.

3. a kinsman or kinswoman; relative.

4. a person or thing related to another by similar natures, languages, geographical proximity, etc..

   Our Canadian cousins are a friendly people.

5. Slang. a gullible, innocent person who is easily duped or taken advantage of.

6. a term of address used by a sovereign in speaking, writing, or referring to another sovereign or a high-ranking noble.

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Cousin ² American  

[koo-zan] / kuˈzɛ̃ /

noun

1. Victor 1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer: founder of the method of eclecticism in French philosophy.

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cousin ¹ British  

/ ˈkʌzən /

noun

1. Also called: first cousin.   cousin-german.   full cousin.  the child of one's aunt or uncle

2. a relative who has descended from one of one's common ancestors. A person's second cousin is the child of one of his parents' first cousins. A person's third cousin is the child of one of his parents' second cousins. A first cousin once removed (or loosely second cousin ) is the child of one's first cousin

3. a member of a group related by race, ancestry, interests, etc

   our Australian cousins

4. a title used by a sovereign when addressing another sovereign or a nobleman

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Cousin ² British  

/ kuzɛ̃ /

noun

1. Victor (viktɔr). 1792–1867, French philosopher and educational reformer

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cousin Idioms  

1. see country cousin; first cousin; kissing cousins; second cousin.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cousinage
  noun
• cousinhood
  noun
• cousinship
  noun
• cousinly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cousins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cousin

1250–1300; Middle English cosin < Anglo-French co ( u ) sin, Old French cosin < Latin consōbrīnus cousin (properly, son of one's mother's sister), equivalent to con- con- + sōbrīnus second cousin (presumably originally “pertaining to the sister”) < *swesrīnos, equivalent to *swesr-, gradational variant of *swesōr (> soror sister ) + *-īnos -ine ¹; for -sr- > -br- cf. December

Explanation

If Aunt Sally has a kid, that kid is your cousin, and if Aunt Sally's kid has a kid, and you have a kid too, then your kid and Sally's kid's kid are second cousins. A cousin is a relative that's farther from you than an immediate relation like your brother or sister, usually the child of your aunt or uncle. Depending on how many children are born into your family, you might have tons of cousins you've never even met, like your distant cousin Johnny who went wild up in Alaska. We also use cousin to describe a kind of family resemblance between things, like the way barbecue sauce is the cousin of ketchup.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cousin Cousin cousins

He rushed out of his house in shorts and slippers, calling his cousin on the way to come help.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

Quintero lived next to her cousin, and they became “pen pals” after he was sent to juvenile hall, she testified.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Jarunee Phosawad came from Roi Et in eastern Thailand to oversee the cremation of her cousin Kochaporn Sotharat's body and the return home of her ashes.

From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026

Patricia McLure, one of Anthony Littler's few surviving close relatives, holds a photograph of the cousin who was "like a big brother"

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

“My cousin vacationed in Nowhere once,” Llewelyn whispered, but stopped after a cutting look from Sinchi.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Cousin Luka Sucic, who plays for Real Sociedad, is also part of Croatia's World Cup squad.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

Catsimatidis even hired one of WABC’s legendary disc jockeys, Bruce Morrow — known to millions of baby boomers as Cousin Brucie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

The research focused on the Seychelles warbler, a small songbird that lives on Cousin Island in the Seychelles.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 13, 2026

Cousin Jake is a bit faster in the open field and a bit less interested in the mac ‘n’ cheese in the kitchen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025

Cousin Eunice poured the noodles into the boiling water.

From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt

The childhood sports idols for my generation of cousins were Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela and boxing champ Julio César Chávez, not Mexican soccer legends Hugo Sánchez and Jorge Campos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

As the youngest in her family, her siblings and cousins told her about their experience, making friends on the dance floor and the huge photo dumps on Facebook.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

She still urges friends and cousins to apply for MTA jobs because of the benefits.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

But he had uncles, aunts and cousins who lived in a much fancier part of the city.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

If he left it behind, some of his older cousins would grab it and stay in the lobby—at least until they wore it out or wrecked it—and the younger relatives would stay too.

From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary

Related Words

• relative